Laser eye surgery or contact lenses?

Question

Hi,
I'm 21 and have known I'm short-sighted since I was around 6.
Over the years my eyesight has gradually gotten worse and worse (things become very blurry less than a foot away).
The lenses in my glasses are very thick, so I have to add thick frames (even if I got the lenses thinned they would still be very thick). Having a small nose, my glasses are heavy and slip down all the bloody time!
So I began wearing 30-day contact lenses as a teenager and I am now starting to have lots of trouble with them (irritating me, itching, infections etc.)

I am considering Laser eye surgery to get rid of all the hassle but the risk of losing my eyesight would be a big blow for me - I start university in September as a student nurse.
However, I am going on holiday for the first time in July with friends and know that I won't be able to have as much freedom when we're messing in the pool or sea etc. I never learned to swim in deep water properly because I can't see anything, I'm too scared!

So my question is - go for laser eye surgery with a leading company (UK), or opt for daily contact lenses instead so I can throw them away every night? (I wouldn't be able to open my eyes under water obviously, but if I lost them or got chlorine on them I could use a new pair instead of using my glasses as I would have to with 30-day contacts).

Sorry it's really long! Thanks for reading :)

Answer 1

If your main issue is that glasses don't work very well in water, and contacts are irritating you, they sell prescription swimming goggles. Or use your existing contacts with regular swim goggles so the water doesn't get in your eyes.



Would be a lot cheaper & less risk of side effects than laser surgery (which seems to scare you anyway).

Answer 2

after seventeen years of short sightedness and thick glasses and not to mention loosing out on scores of girls i underwent catact extraction, where they cut out the lens this was on the basis of one expert advice and will not recommend blade surgery unless three different people advise you to. That said, whilst my long vision was corrected i still use reading type prescription glasses - this was not disclosed to me before surgery which upset me as i was expecting a 99% correction.

So I would advise you to opt for laser and then use glasses i dont thing the regular insertion and removal of contacts is good in the long term. Laslty even though carrots failed - keep on eating them as i do.

Answer 3

Watch final destination 5 I think is the correct one, and then get contacts instead of surgery

Answer 4

well sweetie, think of it this way;

either wear contacts forever, or go completely blind when you get older from laser eye surgery.

Answer 5

you have to be a candidate for lasik and your eyes have to be already developed to a certain measurement!

Answer 6

laser is great. i'm so glad i had it done.